Mugger jailed after knocking over frail pensioner Stanley Evans outside his flat and making off with £5

Stanley Evans says being mugged on his own doorstep will not leave him afraid to go out

Share

Get daily updates directly to your inbox

Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email

An “exceedingly large” robber who knocked over and hurt a frail pensioner to steal just £5 has been jailed for two and a half years for the crime, which has been branded “cowardly” by his 92-year-old victim.

Solomon Bygraves, 29, conned his victim Stanley Evans by pretending he was going to help him with his wheelie bag as he returned from a shopping trip, in footage captured on CCTV.

But once in the block of flats he lunged for the pensioner’s wallet, knocking Mr Evans to the ground.

'Most horrible, horrific, shameful crime'

At an earlier hearing Bygraves, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to robbery after setting upon Mr Evans, who had been returning to his London flat following a shopping trip.

Bygraves, who has 21 convictions for 49 different offences, including two for robbery, smirked during parts of Monday’s sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court.

But in a letter to the judge, Bygraves admitted the attack was the “most horrible, horrific, shameful crime” he had committed.

It showed Mr Evans, originally from Cardigan, lying in the entrance to the flats in Soho, central London, for ten minutes after the attack, which took place on January 31.

'Attack could have been fatal'

Mr Evans, a retired camera assistant who worked on films including the 1947 classic Brighton Rock, eventually managed to get to his feet and call 999.

The judge, Recorder Andrew Mitchell QC, said the attack on Mr Evans, now 93, could have been fatal.

He said: “The victim in the case could easily have died, not through any other reason than just snatching something from him, and causing him therefore to fall down, and he could have just gone at that age.”

Handout CCTV still dated 31/01/15 issued by the Metropolitan Police of Soloman Bygraves, who has admitted carrying out a "callous and sickening" robbery, knocking down frail pensioner Stanley Evans for just £5.

He added: “He was a very small, frail man and your client must be more than 6ft.”

The court heard Bygraves was out on bail for a domestic matter at the time of the attack.

He was coming down from Class A drugs when he spotted the “vulnerable old man” return home with his shopping.

'Unprovoked, callous and sickening'

Richard Sedgwick, prosecuting, said: “Mr Bygraves is an exceedingly large man. There appears to be some evidence of targeting – the age and the size difference point to that.

“Mr Evans presents as an easy victim.”

The pensioner, a retired camera assistant who worked on films including the 1947 classic Brighton Rock, eventually managed to get to his feet and call 999.

Stanley Evans, 93, at his home in London.

The attack was branded as “totally unprovoked, callous and sickening” by police.

But the pensioner, who suffered injuries to his shoulder and arm in the incident, last month vowed not to let the attack change him.

He said: “I cannot forgive him for attacking an older person, no. An older person has a bigger chance of not being fit enough to recover from it.”

Asked if the attack had made him worried about leaving his flat, he said: “No, not in the least.

“It’s a world full of evil people, using innocent people. The worst part of it was the surprise.